Well, took the boat out on the lake to fish and test this morning. No fish, and it is smokey as can be.
Tested the 4-blade prop and it actually worked better than the 3 blade hustler. Hit 30mph and the rpms sounded good at WOT. Rpms were slightly lower than the hustler. Last year the hustler worked better than the 4 blade so thats interesting. I dont think the weight balance issue has anything to do with the boat performance anymore. I believe its 100% the low compression of the motor.
She is slow getting out of the hole, and then stumbles on WOT. Was even worse today than the original splash. Going to recheck compression with a different gauge. What made me realize it was when the admiral was laying down in the bow. The boat eventually got up to WOT and rode no different than if the admiral was sitting down in the back. So her 125lbs made no difference at all in the front…. Neither did the propeller even though the 4-blade was slightly better. The trim also could be used with the 4-blade, but not the 3.
When the motor acts up, its like she doesnt have the power to push through what she should be able to do. It makes sense when getting out of the hole, and when holding a high speed plane through any sort of chop - takes a little more power and its just not there when it should be. At 80% throttle though, she holds a plane well since the boats not going as fast 25vs30, and maybe its has better torque at that rpm. I dunno. Will test the stinger prop next weekend with even more weight in the stern. Just curious if it really is the weight, but i have my doubts, hence the test. Remove the doubt, find the next solution. Most likely, rebuilding that stinger soon.
Oh yea pics…. Finished wheel well covers. The trolling plate. And the bow eye issue - it gets hung up loading and unloading on such shallow trailer…. I can launch deeper but she will float up and hit the wheel well covers.
